Franchise hires and promotes key staff

David Robinson has been appointed as network growth manager and Rod Fitzgerald has joined as head of corporate partnerships and events, while long-serving general manager Leanne Pilkington has assumed the role of managing director.

Laing & Simmons said that Mr Robinson’s role would be to drive productivity and revenue improvements for existing offices, while attracting new businesses to the network.

“With 15 years’ industry experience, including senior roles at McGrath and Elders, Mr Robinson has specialist expertise in training and development, and has coached and managed high-performance teams throughout his career,” the company said in a statement.

Mr Fitzgerald’s role will be to manage relationships with corporate partners, according to Laing & Simmons.

“With 15 years of experience in events and having previously held a corporate partnership role at LJ Hooker, Mr Fitzgerald’s focus will be on engaging and enhancing relationships with existing corporate partners and driving new partnerships with the potential to benefit the group,” it added.

Ms Pilkington will continue to oversee the operation of the franchise network in her new role, but will now have a more strategic focus on building the brand in NSW and nationally.